TARPS turns the Tomcat into the Navy's reconnaissance aircraft

Although designed primarily as a fighter, the F-14 became the fleet's photographic reconnaissance platform. TARPS entered service as the dedicated Vigilante and Crusader reconnaissance aircraft retired, leaving specially equipped Tomcats as the Navy's only organic reconnaissance aircraft. Each air wing had two Tomcat squadrons, but only three TARPS-capable airframes were concentrated in one designated unit. Losing or sidelining those three aircraft could erase the entire air wing's reconnaissance function. A likely explanation combines cost saving with an emerging division in which the Navy retained more electronic-warfare responsibility while the Air Force assumed more reconnaissance work. A small procurement saving could therefore create a disproportionate operational single point of failure.